Epigram

by Ernest Christopher Dowson — a poem card from Justes Mots

A concise epigram on divine retribution: the speaker's idolatrous devotion to an idealized beloved angers jealous gods, who punish him by turning his living idol to marble and stone. Dowson uses classical mythology to express the paradox of love—its intensity invites cosmic punishment, freezing both lover and beloved in eternal, lifeless perfection.

Because I am idolatrous and have besought,
With grievous supplication and consuming prayer,
The admirable image that my dreams have wrought
Out of her swan's neck and her dark, abundant hair:
The jealous gods, who brook no worship save their own,
Turned my live idol marble and her heart to stone.…

Themes: love · new-baby · wedding · friendship